Users may need to collect types of information that is not easily obtained without human interaction. For example, in order to verify or collect data from multiple places of business or organizations, a user may need to call each of the businesses or organizations in order to gather the information. While web search engines can assist users with such tasks by providing contact information for a service or business, the user must still call the service or business themselves to complete the task themselves.
In order to maintain a database of information gathered from multiple places of business or organizations, a human operator can initiate automated calls to large numbers of businesses to collect data, but selecting the callees (e.g., all restaurants in a particular town that serve the same cuisine) and placing the calls can be time-consuming when performed manually. Moreover, determining when and whether to place the calls generally requires human analysis of existing data in order to identify a need for verification, updating, or supplemental information.
Users may also wish to perform tasks such as make appointments or hire a service. However, there is generally a person with whom a user must interact to complete the desired task. For example, a user may be required to call and speak with a hostess in order to make a reservation at a small restaurant that does not have a website. In some cases, even when users place the calls themselves, they may encounter automated phone trees that often accept only a limited set of user responses.